


A Little Tenderness

by Emerald Embers (emeraldembers)



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-02
Updated: 2010-04-02
Packaged: 2017-10-08 15:02:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/76863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emeraldembers/pseuds/Emerald%20Embers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snake will take any break he can get these days, even if that break means seeing Hal with others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Tenderness

She'd slept with him.

Snake didn't have much to say about it. Didn't need to - his small nod in reply to Hal's shy smile afterwards was conversation enough by their standards.

And it was damn good seeing Hal smile again.

 

It was typically strange for their lives that he and Hal had ended up like this. He wouldn't have expected the shy, geeky, but powerfully stubborn scientist to have ended up as his co-worker; much less his friend, much less a second father alongside him for Sunny.

Snake had endured mixed feelings about Hal for months after they first began working together before a cold night and too many beers had the expected effect; the need for human warmth turned into a need for human affection and... well. Hal had always been affectionate, no denying that.

Far from being awkward afterwards, it had been surprisingly easy. Probably because, all things considered, it was understandable. For once, something new in their lives happened to be outright normal, something that could happen to any two people who worked together with sexual appetites and little outside contact.

Spending their time in an odd sort of relationship made sense; neither of them had anything in particular to do outside of work and Snake knew full well from early on that his choice of 'career' meant he was never going to have a chance to develop any alternatives; Hal's skills meant he would always have a way out if he needed one, but Snake was only useful to himself, by and large.

Unfortunately, Snake's aging had the expected effects in many areas, not least of which being impotency. Snake had clear thoughts on any relationship he was in, and harboured no confused notions of being tucked into bed with cocoa and Viagra and a half-hearted promise they could try again later. It had been awkward at first when they moved back into separate beds, but he had no desire to watch Hal's feelings for him turn into something more familial. He and Hal lived together, but that didn't make them a domestic couple. There were bigger concerns.

 

He'd watched Hal meet Naomi in the midst of said bigger concerns, and it had been an unexpected relief. Yes, he still didn't trust her much - never had been trusting of anyone, Hal and Sunny aside - but the weight she shifted from Hal's shoulders was a relief.

Hal was a good friend who deserved a break, and if Naomi was the one to provide that break, Snake was inclined to take that particular gift on faith alone.

 

The End


End file.
